The French Defense Ministry suggests the decision is linked to Paris’ opposition to Israel’s continued invasion of Rafah.
France has banned Israeli companies from participating in this year’s annual Eurosatorian arms and defense industry exhibition in Villepinte, near Paris, next month, event organizers and French authorities said.
“By decision of government authorities, there will be no stand for the Israeli defense industry at the Eurosatory 2024 fair,” organizers Coges Events said on Friday.
The French Defense Ministry suggested the decision was linked to Paris’ opposition to the continued Israeli attack on Rafah in southern Gaza.
“The conditions are no longer met to welcome Israeli companies to the event, at a time when the president is asking Israel to cease operations in Rafah,” the ministry told Reuters news agency.
Seventy-four Israeli companies were due to participate in the event from June 17 to 21, at fairgrounds near Paris’ main international airport, with Coges previously saying that around 10 of them would display weapons.
Last week, a group of activists issued a legal warning and urged Coges to take measures to prevent the purchase and sale of weapons that could be used in “crimes” committed in Gaza or other parts of the occupied Palestinian territory.
ASER, Stop Arming Israel, Urgency Palestine and the French-Palestinian Solidarity Association also warned against profits from the fair that “reinforce the economic power of companies likely to participate in these crimes”.
Coges told the AFP news agency that it was “a fair exclusively for the presentation of defense and security equipment… and in no way a place for business”.
Friday’s announcement came just days after Israel bombed a camp for displaced people in Rafah, in southern Gaza, sparking international outrage and widespread protests in France.
President Emmanuel Macron also said he was “outraged” by the Israeli airstrike that killed 45 people in the camp.
In previous weeks, France joined other Western nations in calling on Israel against the invasion of Rafah, which has become home to hundreds of thousands of Palestinians forcibly displaced from other parts of Gaza.
Israel ignored these warnings and pursued a major offensive against Rafah, displacing around a million people from the city. The attack, which saw Israeli forces take control of the Rafah crossing with Egypt, also worsened the humanitarian crisis in Gaza.
Last week, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) – the United Nations’ top court – ordered Israel to halt its attacks on Rafah.
At least 36,284 Palestinians have been killed and 82,057 injured in Israel’s war on Gaza since October 7.
This story originally appeared on Aljazeera.com read the full story
